(The Hill) — A trade deal was announced on Sunday by President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, setting a 15 percent tariff for European goods, including cars.
As part of the agreement, the European Union will buy $750 billion in energy from the U.S., Trump stated, and plans to increase its investments in the U.S. by an additional $600 billion beyond current levels for other products.
This arrangement offers a lower tariff than the 30 percent Trump had initially threatened for the EU, which was set to start on Aug. 1, thus preventing a potential trade war with the U.S.’s biggest trading partner.
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Trump and von der Leyen both touted the enormity of the deal they had agreed to during a meeting at the president’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I think it’s the biggest deal ever made,” Trump said.
“We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world. It’s a big deal, it’s a huge deal, it will bring stability, it will be predictability,” von der Leyen said. “It’s a good deal, it’s a tough deal.”
When asked about concessions the U.S. made to reach the deal, von der Leyen acknowledged that there was an unbalanced trade relationship previously between the EU and the U.S., resulting in a deficit for the U.S.
“We wanted to rebalance the trade relation and we wanted to do it in a way that trade goes on between the two of us across the Atlantic,” she said.
Trump went into the meeting with von der Leyen saying he thought there was a 50-50 chance the two leaders could strike a deal on Sunday.
“You’re known as a tough dealmaker and negotiator,” von der Leyen said before the meeting.
“And fair,” Trump responded.
“This is really the biggest trading partnership in the world so we should give it a shot,” Trump said.
Trump similarly reached a deal with Japan on trade earlier this week, which would set a 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods. That is lower than the 25 percent tariff Trump had threatened to impose on Japan beginning Aug. 1.
Also in that deal, Trump said that Japan would invest $550 billion in projects in the U.S. and would open its markets to U.S. automobiles, rice and other agricultural products.
The president on Sunday doubled down on tariffs starting on Aug. 1, telling reporters, “The August 1 is there for everyone. The deals all start on August 1.”
